Monthly Archives: August 2013

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Fairly typical Chinese to go food. Everything seems a bit overcooked and buried in sauce for my taste. The owner is brusque but efficient. To go orders were filled fairly quickly, and cooked to order. There are four tables inside for dining in. Quite inexpensive.

Dave’s may have the best wine list in Evanston. It’s certainly the best priced wine list. The selections are well thought out, good quality, and priced only a bit above retail. Weirdly, the best section of the list is Australian, where there are a number of old gems.

Food-wise, our results were good but not amazing. I really liked the Ceasar salad, and the bread was great. I was less enthusiastic about the house made pasta, which seemed heavy and overcooked. The small calzone was huge and tasty, although next time I’ll make sure to get one with ricotta cheese in it. We didn’t sample the pizza, but it looked very good.

The entrance is weird, with steps leading down to an industrial cubicle and no signs indicating where the restaurant is. But this makes it a delightful surprise to open the door onto a cheerful, bustling, and surprisingly large space.

Service was very friendly and attentive. We’ll definitely return for another crack at that wine list.

I’ve had sushi all over the world, from Tokyo to Los Angeles, New York and Nobu in London. But I’ve never had better than here at Kabooki. We had the omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands. He came to the table to assess our tastes, and then repeatedly to check on each dish. Everything was stellar, but the real stunner was the sashimi platter, where the perfection and simplicity of the fish left us in awe. Each was served with a different tiny dot of sauce and sprig of micro green. The accompanying wine pairing was generous and high quality. This will become our weekly pilgrimage. It’s unbelievable to find this quality of sushi in Orlando.

Jilly’s is a casual French cafe with friendly service and a fairly traditional menu. One of the more interesting aspects is that there are almost as many specials each night as there are regular menu items.

The meal begins with excellent crusty French bread, butter, and chicken liver pate.

I had the escargot, which were the traditional preparation, topped with small croquettes and served with a slice of lemon. The escargot and garlic butter were good, especially with the French bread. I’m not sure the croquettes and lemon added a lot.

My second course was my favorite, a poached pair and bleu cheese salad. It had just the right mix of bitter and sweet ingredients.

An intermezzo of pinot noir sorbet cleared the palate.

For my entree I selected their specialty, the skinless duck breast and confit. Both were good, but the breast was swimming in a very sweet sauce, so I stuck with the confit.

Service was extremely friendly at all the tables, and they were reasonably busy on a Tuesday night, with a crowd composed of about half regulars. Wine prices is reasonable, although the website version of the wine list is out of date.

Jilly’s is a good choice if you are in the mood for traditional French food in a friendly atmosphere.

I’ve now been to Bistro Bordeaux many, many times over four years, and it is always superb. Favorites are the chicken for two (better than at Alain Ducasse’s Louis IV in Monaco!), the house salad, the French onion soup, whatever the day’s tart is, whatever the current preparation of the foie gras, the Cognacs, the decaf teas, pretty much everything. Great authentic ambiance, great food.

Great little place on a side street in Chinatown. Clean, friendly, and superb food. Lunch is an incredible bargain for under $7, but we chose to explore the main menu, which is also reasonably priced.

We tried the Salty Egg Yolk Shrimp, Dungeness Crab Curry, and the French Beef. All were excellent.

I would have liked the shrimp a bit crispier; it’s definitely worth $2 extra to have it shelled.

If only the crab could be shelled! It was our favorite dish because of the rich spices in the curry, but it was an absolute mess to eat because it’s a whole crab covered in curry sauce, and you have to crack the shells; but hanging onto something covered in hot, slippery sauce is a real challenge. They can do other proteins with this sauce, and that’s what I’d get next time.

I’d definitely get the French Beef again. It was wonderfully tender cubes of beef with an aromatic crust. No Frenchmen were harmed in the preparation of this dish.

This is definitely a non-touristy place to have great food in Chinatown.

I was hesitant to try this place because of the reviews, and I’m a bit of a Tex Mex snob. But I have to say that their premium margarita is killer. Maybe no one tries it because it’s $11 bucks, but it was worth it: top of the line Sauza and Gran Marnier.

An intimate upscale Italian restaurant with good food and great ambiance.

I tried three three tasty dishes: The diver scallops appetizer was a bit heavy, almost floating in butter, but tasty. Caesar salad was traditional and tasty, but served in “kit” form requiring a lot of cutting up to assemble it. The barramundi special was a tasty piece of fish enhanced by the horseradish creme fraiche, but the beets and kale didn’t add much.

This place has a pleasant outside eating area. Inside the atmosphere is more sportsbar-ish. The menu is weighted towards burgers, and there didn’t seem to be any salads. The veggie burger I had on a pretzel bun was delicious. The Greek fries were soggy. So, one for two.

Although it’s called a bar and grill, half the menu is breakfast, so I’d return to try that.

This is very authentic tapas. In fact, except that the plates are larger, it is extremely similar to Tapa Tapa in Barcelona. I tried the ceviche, the asparagus, the grilled squid and the grilled mussels. The ceviche was my favorite. It’s a fully cooked version, and the shrimp and squid were tender, and the diced peppers and onions nicely marinated. The grilled mussels, served like fajitas, were also good.

The wine pours are a bit small for the price, but the dessert coffees at $3.95 make up for it. Try the Matador, which has Spanish vanilla liqueur in it.

Service is a bit uneven, but if you’re not in a hurry that’s okay. The place is very busy; it was packed on the Tuesday night I went, so that could account for it. The outside dining area is very nice on a warm evening.